it happened at a meeting of the coganization for security and cooperation in europe, known as the o.s.c.e., and margaret brennan is covering for us tonight. margaret. >> reporter: well, scott, officials familiar with those talks say the russians now think that bashar al-assad may not survive the war, and they want to have influence in syria if his regime falls, or if he loses control of the chemical weapons inside of his country. u.s. officials are particularly concerned that those weapons dould fall into the hands of an al qaeda affiliate active within syria. r: pelley: so what's coming next? >> reporter: well, it's a start to a new round of diplomacy. the russians have refused to meet for months, but this is not nabreakthrough. the russians are signaling they're willing to help with the political transition, but they are still officially supporting haad. secretary clinton says the russians have refused to give him asylum. oher countries have offered, but so far, he is not negotiating his exit. assad has vowed to fight to the death. >> pelley: margaret, thank you. when the syrian people